UKIPT5 Marbella Main Event Day 2: Bubble Burst; 61 Players Remain

Sam Grafton is among the 61 players returning for the penultimate day's action in the 2015 UKIPT Marbella Main Event where €150,800 awaits the champion.

Day 2 of the 2015 PokerStars UKIPT Marbella Main Event was played at a frantic pace, one that saw a staggering 280 players eliminated over the course of eight 60-minute levels. This means only 61 players remain in contention for the €150,800 first place prize that is to be awarded at some point on Sunday.

Each of the returning 61 players is guaranteed to take home at least €2,380 thanks to the money bubble burst during Day 2 proceedings. It actually burst three-ways with Salvador Mosteiro Costoya, Lukasz Jankowski, and Alex Ferguson crashing out on separate tables at the same time and therefore splitting the prize money and taking home €1,130 — or a mere €30 profit.

Leading the way going into the penultimate day’s play is Spain’s Dario Carrion Morenilla who finished Day 2 with 967,000 chips. Morenilla has a number of major tournament cashes in his native Spain and looks to be using his knowledge of how the locals play to full effect.

Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

Place

Player

Country

Chips

1

Dario Carrion Morenilla

Spain

967,000

2

Pablo Galache

Spain

783,000

3

Jeffrey Brouwer

Netherlands

737,000

4

Isidoro Barrena

Spain

733,000

5

Niko Kettunen

Finland

670,000

6

Steinar Edduson

Iceland

663,000

7

Aleksandar Abtovic

Germany

600,000

8

Daniel Price

UK

575,000

9

Victor Gimenez De-Houting

Spain

572,000

10

Borja Gross Fernandez

570,000

Another player to look out for on Day 3 is Finland’s Niko Kettunen (670,000) who has been up among the chip leaders since the tournament began. His past results may not be stellar, but he seems to be playing well in Marbella and would be a solid bet to make it through Day 3’s action relatively unscathed.

One man who does have some fantastic results to his name, both live and online, is British grinder Sam Grafton (463,000). Now living in the Czech Republic, Grafton is one of the most popular players on the live poker circuit thanks to his constant banter and his pure love for the game.

Grafton’s $443,534 in live tournament winnings — a figure aided by his ninth place finish in this event last year — coupled with ins $3.5 million online winnings make him the most experienced player among the final 61 and that experience should prove invaluable as this tournament progresses.

Day 3’s field is less shark-infested due to a number of talented players crashing out on Day 2. Team PokerStars SportStar Fatima Moreira de Melo fell in 116th place for €1,775) while the likes of Lewis Swift (105th for €1,775), Lasse Frost (100th for €1,775), last year’s third place finisher Katja Svendsen (93rd for €2,020), and James Atkin (82nd for €2,020) also saw their UKIPT title hopes dashed.

Play resumes at noon local time and efforts will be made to reduce the 61 player down to the official final table of eight. Which players will make it through to Day 4 where at least €14,100 is secured? Tune into PokerNews.com on Sunday to find out.

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